1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle installed monitoring system and more particularly to a vehicle installed monitoring system for allowing a driver of a bus or a like vehicle to monitor an area around a door of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A driver of a bus or a like vehicle always needs to be aware of the presence of people near the bus when operating the bus. The need to be aware of the bus surroundings is especially important during the frequent bus stops when passengers are entering onto or exiting from the bus. During these stops, the driver should be able to fully observe and monitor all areas of the bus and areas surrounding the bus so that the driver can prevent or quickly react to potentially dangerous situations.
Of particular importance is the area immediately surrounding the door due to the constant movement of passengers through this area during the frequent stops. The heavy amount of passenger movement through this area can create dangerous situations because passengers in this area may not be fully prepared for the movement of the bus when the bus begins moving off and the driver may start driving off without realizing that passengers are fully clear of the bus. It is not uncommon for a person exiting the bus to have a piece of clothing, or an article they are carrying get caught onto the bus door or side as the bus begins moving off, creating a potentially dangerous, or even life threatening situation. This problem is especially acute in the operation of school buses since children are more likely to exit the bus hurriedly and may not be particularly careful as they exit.
The possibility of the occurrence of the above described situation may be increased by the fact that the bus driver is usually unable to observe the entire area around the door. The driver of a conventionally configured bus while seated is unable to monitor the outside peripheral areas of the door, and therefore may be unaware of any dangerous situations which may exist in that area. Additionally, the driver may be distracted and unable to check that all passengers have safely exited from the bus. Again, this problem may be especially acute in the operation of school buses. Further, the driver may have fallen into the habit of quickly driving off without checking that all passengers have safely exited and cleared the area around the bus.
In order to avoid the above described situation, what is needed is a vehicle installed monitoring system that provides video images of the exterior area surrounding the bus door and reminds the driver to inspect the images each time the bus door is closed prior to driving off. Conventional vehicle installed monitoring and observation systems do not provide such capabilities.
One type of a vehicle installed monitoring system comprises a video camera mounted at the rear of the vehicle which allows a driver to monitor the area around the rear of the vehicle and to verify that the area is clear before backing up the vehicle. Such systems are used frequently with, for example, large trucks which are backed into loading areas to take on cargo. These rear observation systems may be activated when the driver places the vehicle in reverse. However, such a system is used to verify that an area behind a truck is clear, and thus is not suited for monitoring an area around a bus door and reminding the driver to inspect a video image during certain operations.
Another type of vehicle installed monitoring system comprises a video camera and a recorder device disposed inside the vehicle and is designed to monitor and record activity inside the vehicle. One such system includes a video camera mounted inside the front of a school bus facing the passenger area such that the video camera can monitor and record the activity inside the bus. However, such a system is designed to monitor the passenger area of the vehicle and is not suited for allowing the driver to monitor blind spots outside the bus around the vicinity of the bus door.
Yet another type of vehicle installed monitoring system comprises a video camera mounted on the vehicle's dash board to record events which occur in the immediate front vicinity of the vehicle. Such systems are commonly installed in, for example, police vehicles to provide evidence of the activities around the police vehicle and to record characteristics of stopped persons and vehicles. Again, such a system is not designed to allow the driver of a bus or a like vehicle to monitor an area around the exterior of the door and is not suited for use on a bus or a like vehicle.
Therefore, what is needed is a vehicle installed monitoring system for use with a bus or a like vehicle which allows a bus driver to monitor the area immediately surrounding the bus door to verify that potentially dangerous situations do not exist in the monitored area before driving off.
What is also needed is a vehicle installed monitoring system for monitoring an area around a bus door which reminds the bus driver to inspect a video image provided by the monitoring system immediately after closing the bus door prior to driving off. The reminder mechanism may remain activated for a predetermined time period following the closing of the door and may automatically deactivate after the predetermined time period. The monitoring system may further allow the driver to manually reset the monitoring system after the reminder mechanism is automatically deactivated.